


Pearl's Daughter

by PyroJuese



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Angst, Daughters, Family
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-21
Updated: 2021-01-21
Packaged: 2021-03-12 20:00:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,840
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28891011
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PyroJuese/pseuds/PyroJuese
Summary: Peridot gives Pearl a virtual child, and after five years of getting attached to it, Pearl wants it to be a real child. The only problem is, just like Rose, she and her child couldn't both exist. Pearl's child, June, has to live with that fact, and convince the other crystal gems to accept it too.
Kudos: 6





	Pearl's Daughter

"Pearl! I've got you the perfect present!" Peridot said. Her gem sparkled and she pulled out a little green computer chip with a homeworld symbol on it. "Tada~"

Pearl smiled as she stared at it in confusion. "Um, what is it?"

"Well, you know how you've been super depressed after Steven left?"

Pearl's smile turned awkward. "W-What? Who told you that?!"

"Garnet, Amethyst, Bismuth, Steven-" Peridot counted off using her fingers.

"Okay, I guess I have been missing Steven, but he needs to do what's best for him. If that means going who knows where, doing who knows what, then he should." She looked at the floor. "Even if he hardly calls anymore…"

Peridot brought Pearl's eyes back up by placing the chip in her hand. "Don't worry, Steven can still go on his little adventure. Me and some inferior Peridots worked together with the best technology homeworld has to offer to make this for you."

"You shouldn't have…"

"But we did! And we made the best artificial intelligence in the known galaxy! Here, let me see your phone." Pearl handed it over and Peridot put the chip in it. A new app suddenly started downloading called 'new life'. "I thought you'd like a Steven of your own! But it's not Steven, you can name it anything you want, and it would look like you, but you can change the clothing, and hairstyle, and things like that."

"You made me a child app?"

Peridot smiled. "Yeah! And we studied the humans for it. It'll start all weak and helpless, then grow like them. We based its code off of Steven, so she has a gem, but ages like humans. You can teach it tricks, like how to crawl and talk, and it'll really learn them! Isn't that cool?" The app finished downloading so Peridot clicked it. The picture of a tiny baby appeared on the screen. It looked like a little, bald baby, but with awfully pale skin, and a pearl on its forehead. She showed it to Pearl. "See? You like it?"

Tears started forming in Pearl's eyes, her hand over her mouth. "Oh Peridot… I love it…"

Peridot nodded. "Some of my finest work! It's a girl, by the way, but I could change that if you want it to be more Steven."

"No, no… she's perfect…" Pearl hugged the gem in front of her. "I can't thank you enough."

Peridot got out of the hug and waved dismissively. "Oh, it was nothing. So, are you going to name it?"

Pearl nodded. "I've always liked the name June."

~~~000~~~

"Look, June, your Aunt Amethyst is playing Steven's old games. Do you wanna watch?" Pearl asked her phone.

The screen showed a young girl on it with pinkish-caramel-colored brown hair. It squared around her pale face and poked out at the bottom. At the top, it curled, half-covering her gem. "Yesh mommy!"

Amethyst took her eyes off of the TV for only a second to glance at the phone. "Wow, look at that, it talks now. And it's grown since the last time, like, two pixels."

"Four pixels actually," Pearl corrected. "Isn't she growing up so fast?"

"Yep. Sure is. 'Growing'," Amethyst mumbled.

The child on the phone babbled incoherently, pointing to the TV. Pearl nodded, as if she understood what it said. "Yep, a video game. Inside the console is a certain type of coding. The electricity comes from the house into the device, and from there-"

"Yo, P, I don't think your video game needs to learn how video games work." Amethyst shapeshifted a new arm to help her with the game she was playing.

"Well, how else is June supposed to learn? I should get Steven. He's always better at explaining this stuff than me."

Amethyst rolled her eyes. "Steven is busy, remember."

"I know… It's just been so long since I've seen him in person, and June has never seen him in person. Today makes it a whole year since I got her, and he hasn't been here..."

"He'll come home soon, don't worry. Maybe you should check on Little Homeworld, make sure it's all running right for when he gets home."

Pearl clicked a button on her phone, then put it in her gem. "Right. I'll be back later." She walked off, not thinking much about June for the rest of the day.

~~~000~~~

"June has an announcement," Pearl said, holding up her phone. She turned the volume up.

"Bird yay!" June giggled. "Me bird yay!"

"That's right!" Pearl beamed. "It's been officially two years since I got June. Since her growth is based off humans, I decided to teach her human customs like birthdays!"

Steven, Connie, Garnet, and Peridot were all there, Steven and Connie eating breakfast.

Connie smiled sweetly. "That's great! Happy birthday June."

"Has it only been two years? It feels like longer… much longer…" Garnet said.

"I remember programming her like it was yesterday," Peradot cooed. She levitated the phone from Pearl's hands into hers. "I see she's almost unlocked proper word mimicking abilities. Very optimal for how long you've had it. You must be talking to it a lot."

"And talking about it a lot," Garnet added.

Nodding, Pearl walked over and took the phone back. "I haven't been talking about her that much have I?" Everyone at the table answered some sort of 'yes'. Pearl smiled sheepishly. "Oh, I guess I have been a bit obsessed with her…"

"That's okay. If it makes you happy, I won't complain," Steven said. "By the way, I have an announcement too: Me and Connie are going to leave today."

"What?!" Pearl exclaimed.

"But you just got here five days ago! We haven't even watched the new season of Camp Pining Heart's reboot yet!" Peridot complained.

"And I know for a fact Connie's college doesn't start for another month!"

"Hey!" Pearl and Peridot both drew their attention onto Garnet. "Steven is leaving today, and we're supportive of him and his decision. Right?"

Pearl glanced back at Steven, his face painted with guilt. She soon adopted a similar looking expression. "You're right. I'm sorry Steven. You and Connie can go do whatever you'd like, I was just a bit surprised…"

"Yeah." Peridot put one arm behind her head. "We can watch the season separately and Facetime about it."

"Guys, you don't have to worry about me. I'm fine, I promise. Me and Connie just want to go on vacation. I'll be back soon. Worse case scenario, we'll see each other at the wedding, right?"

Pearl put on a fake smile. The wedding was seven months away. "Okay Steven. I can't wait til then."

They all said their goodbyes, and soon enough, Steven was off with Connie to go tell Amethyst and the others that they were leaving again. Seeing the car drive off, she couldn't help but feel like she did all those years ago when Steven first left. They were even all standing in a row like last time.

"Don't worry, he'll be back," Garnet said. She left Pearl's side to head back to the house.

Peridot stayed. She was never good at reading emotion, but even she could see that Pearl was sad. "Hey, I have an idea. It's my Program's birthday after all, and it is human custom to give presents on such an occasion. How would you like it if I upgrade her software? I can even put her on a tablet, since your phone is rather small."

Smiling, Pearl nodded. "That would be wonderful."

"Excellent! Let's get started!"

The two gems walked off together, talking about the wonderful things they'll add to the programming.

~~~000~~~

Garnet and Amethyst came running out of their rooms at the sound of a scream. It felt like forever since they had to fight something, but they were prepared nonetheless.

"What's going on?" Amethyst asked, baring her whip.

Pearl, the owner of the scream, was running around frantically, seeming looking for something. "I can't find my charger!" she cried.

Both gems gained a look of disappointment as they willed away their weapons. "Have you checked under the table? Cause I think I shoved one there," Amethyst said.

Pearl went under the table and quickly found what she was looking for. She wasted no time plugging in her tablet. "Is this about that app again?" Garnet asked.

"I poofed June! I-I didn't mean too, we just spent so long visiting all these places for her third birthday, and I was letting her stay up past her bedtime, but I wasn't even paying attention to the battery, and and…"

"Your tablet dying makes it poof? Like a gem? Why would Peridot program that?" Amethyst questioned.

"I don't know," Pearl cried. "But she looked so scared right before it happened. I never told her about poofing! It was all my fault, and I can't even apologize because she might not reform for days!" Talking about it made the beginnings of tears form in Pearl's eyes.

"Calm down," Garnet said, comforting her friend. "It's just a game. It doesn't have real emotions."

"But Garnet-"

"No buts. I need you to say that it's just a game."

Pearl's gaze shifted from Garnet, to her tablet, to the floor. "It's just a game…" She mumbled.

"Good. And it 'poofing' is a good thing. I think you need to spend less time on the game. It's not healthy. Promise me you won't touch the game for a while."

"I promise…"

Amethyst looked at the clock. It was almost midnight. Of course, gems didn't have to sleep, but they still tended to do it at night because they have nothing better to do. "Well, I'm going back to bed. Maybe next time, try not to scream at video games, kay?"

"O-okay."

With that Amethyst left, and after a short hesitation, Garnet followed. Pearl sat beside her dead tablet. "June, I know you can't hear me, but I'm sorry your birthday ended like this. And Garnet's right… you're just a game… but I wish you weren't. When you come back, I'll tell you everything about poofing and gems so nothing could scare you."

~~~000~~~

"Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday to Junie~ Happy birthday to you!" Pearl sang.

June giggled and clapped. "I love it mommy!"

"That's not even the best part! Look, Uncle Steven wishes you a happy birthday too!" Pearl held her phone up to the tablet's camera. 'Tell June I said happy birthday' it said.

"I love Uncle Steven! Is he coming over again?"

"No, he's not. Garnet and Amethyst don't want to celebrate with us either... And that's okay, cause I'm here," Pearl smiled at her happy little girl. June had longer hair that had little curls on the ends. "And this year, we get to celebrate with two other aunts!"

"Peridot and Lapis!"

"You guessed it! We're almost to the barn, then we can open presents."

"I can't wait!"

It wasn't actually the barn anymore, but that's what Lapis and Peridot call their home in little homeworld, so everybody else calls it that too. It didn't take long for Pearl to get there, and the second she opened the door, Peridot levitated the tablet to her. "Wow look at that! Another anniversary passes and not a bug to be seen! You know, you really are some of my best work, Program."

June giggled. "Thank you auntie Peri."

"So she's four now right? And acts like a human?" Lapis asked. Pearl and Peridot nod in unison. "Do four year olds like clay?" She pulls out a clob of wet clay, which Peridot points the camera to.

June gasped. "I love it! Thank you auntie Lapis!"

"Well, then you'll love this too." With her free hand, Lapis started swirling her finger, making the water on and in the clay start moving, creating a sculpture. June exclaims what the sculpture is supposed to look like, then Lapis would crush it and make it all again, much to June's delight. June would say what the new object is and they would continue.

Peridot set down the tablet so its camera could still see Lapis and her magic.

"So, what has the Program been able to accomplish? Have you unlocked all my hidden codes yet?" Peridot asked.

"I think I'm getting close. Obviously she can talk very well at this point, and her running is impeccable. You should see her little legs dance and run," Pearl smiled as she thought. "And she can fight too!"

"You found the holo pearl expansion? That was so fun to add! It runs great, right?"

She nodded. "It runs excellent. June can make these cute little dagger sized swords. She also learned how to bubble not too long ago. She made hundreds~"

"If you got that far, you unlocked some shapeshifting, right?"

"Oh, yes, she's loving the shapeshifting! June's been a frog, mouse, rat, and a tiny snake! We've been having trouble getting her to shapeshift into anything much bigger than her gem, but we're working on it."

Peridot started tapping her chin. "So the shapeshifting is faulty? I did program her to do more, but something must be in the way. I should fix that."

"No, don't. June and I will work through it together."

Peridot shrugged. "If you insist. I'll go get my present for her. You haven't given yours yet right?"

"Your present can go first."

The day continued, and Lapis eventually stopped making and breaking sculptures. Peridot and Pearl gave June presents of their own: a book scanner and tons of books. The young gem program adored the gifts, along with the whole rest of the party.

"Did you have fun today?"

June nodded. "Yes mommy! It was great!"

"That's great, June. Are you ready for bed?"

June nodded. "Yes mommy!"

"Do you want a story before bed?"

June nodded. "Yes mommy! I love bedtime stories!"

Pearl laughed. "Are you just going to say 'yes mommy' to everything I say?" she joked.

June nodded again. "Yes mommy! I will!"

Pearl froze. She had gotten so wrapped up in the party she practically forgot June wasn't real. Sure, Peridot kept calling her Program, but June just felt so real. As if she actually did have a child that was just stuck inside her tablet for whatever reason. Now, with the dialogue loop, it really felt like the fact June is just 1s and 0s slapped her across the face.

June was just like all of those old Homeworld pearls: obedient to a fault. She had no free will. And since she is fake, she never will. Unless…

"Mommy?" June asked. She could see the change in Pearl's expression.

"Don't worry June, I just need to ask Peridot something."

"Okay. Hey mommy, when you're done, can you tell me the story of you rebelling against Homeworld again? I love that story."

Pearl gave June a quick smile as she turned around to the barn. "Sure thing, June. I'd do anything for you."

~~~000~~~

"Peridot said that no matter how good she is at coding, she can't give June free will. It's impossible for an AI to have a reaction to something that they choose, it's always just a string of numbers and preset commands. There's only one way that June can have free will, and that requires a gem. Not just any old Earth crystal, but one that was made by absorbing the life around it. We can't just restart that process again, but in order to put June's personality and abilities into an already made gem, Peridot has to delete the original personality." Pearl looked to the floor as she continued.

"I've been thinking… W-What if I let June have my gem? I know what you're thinking: I must be crazy. Like Amethyst and Garnet keep telling me, she's only an app right now, but she could be so much more. That's why I'm not telling them until later, because they wouldn't understand and just try to fight me. They don't see June how I do. She's so smart, and so happy about everything. She doesn't have thousands of years of regrets, but she'll have thousands of years of life in her future. I've never seen it until now, but all children do. Their young, naive joy is so beautiful. It's something I could never have." She sighed. "It's just- what's there left for me to do? Yes, the piece that little homeworld gives us is nice, but life's already becoming so monotonous as it is. I will live for possibly millions of years, but what would I do in that time? I've done everything I've ever wanted to already. I won the war, helped all these gems, and watched you grow up. There's nothing left to do besides watch you d-"

Pearl froze. She knew she was probably putting too much of her problems onto Steven as is, so continuing could make things worse. "I never cared that much about humans before. But now-" She had no idea how to put what she was feeling into words. "Steven, I watched you grow old once, and it was absolutely horrifying. I don't want to watch that again." Pearl glanced at her phone. Her voicemail was running long. She knew she didn't have much time left. "I'm sorry, Steven. It's just been on my mind all year. If anybody would know what to do, it would be you. After all, June is just like you. She finally let me see what Rose did all those years." Pearl laughed to herself. "I know the day-of is late to get something, but free will is one hell of a fifth birthday present." Her phone beeped. The voicemail had reached its limit.

She knew Steven would call back when he heard it and talk some sense into her. Or, he'd be supportive. Either way, it was only about 9am, so he had time to call back before the day was over. The truth is, Pearl really was conflicted. If Rose was anything to go off of, everybody she cares about would be heartbroken at her leaving, but on the other hand, she wouldn't trade Steven away for anything, not even Rose.

"Mommy, am I allowed to unmute my ears now?" June asked.

Pearl nodded, so June did just that. "What were you talking to Uncle Steven about?" June asked.

"Nothing important. Why don't you tell me again what you want to be when you grow up?"

June bounced around the screen. "I'm going to be a teacher, astronaut, doctor, engineer, chemist when I grow up! And I'll be so good at doing all of them that I'll be famous! And I'll also be a warrior, just like you, so I can keep Earth safe!"

"That sounds great, June! You know, for a future astronaut, I think spending your birthday in space would be pretty cool, wouldn't it?"

Her artificial blue eyes sparkled at the thought. "That would be incredible!"

Hours passed. They couldn't spend too long in space or else the tablet would run out of battery, and Pearl was always super cautious to never let that happen again.

When they touched back down on Earth, the sun was starting to set. She had no missed calls from Steven. She got her tablet charged up, and still no calls. She stood on the warp pad, her tablet in one arm, her phone in the other.

"I-I can't do this."

"Just keep trying! I believe in you!" June said.

Pearl looked deep into her digital daughter's big eyes. She knew June didn't know the situation and was just repeating what she would tell her during fighting practice.

She had spent all year preparing for this day. She rewired the Holo Pearls, wrote out all her goodbyes, made a pro and con list of going through with it, and everything. The last thing she wanted was Steven to say that yes, June will want to be real. He's the only person that would know. June doesn't know, she just agrees to anything Pearl says, she has to.

"June, I need you to cover your ears again."

"Okay mommy!" The tablet's microphone stopped recording, so Pearl felt comfortable calling Steven again.

He actually picked up this time.

"Hey Pearl, I'm a bit busy right now, but what's up?" Steven said.

"I'm sorry, Steven. Did you listen to my voicemail?"

"Yeah. It was great! Oh, before I forget, tell June Happy Birthday for me."

Pearl couldn't believe it. Not only did Steven agree with her, he was so nonchalant about it. He must have been so confident. "So you really think I should-" She trailed off. She didn't know a good way to say what she was going to do.

"Yeah, whatever makes you happy! I should probably get going now."

Pearl nodded, even though Steven couldn't see it. "Of course. Go back to what you were doing. Thank you Steven. I just wanted to let you know, I love you so, so much, and no matter what, I will always love you. Remember that, okay?"

She could hear Steven's laugh. "Okay. I love you too. Bye Pearl!"

"Goodbye, Steven. I'll miss you."

"Same here." He hung up.

With leaps and bounds more of confidence, Pearl got June unmuted and ran to the barn. Peridot and Lapis were waiting. They knew full well what Pearl had been planning.

"So, you're actually going through with this?" Lapis asked.

Pearl nodded. "I'm sure of it. Steven even thought it was a good idea too!"

"He did?" Peridot questioned. Like Pearl was, she wasn't so sold on deleting her friend forever. She'd be fine, but she was more concerned about how the other gems would react. "What did he say?"

"He told me to do whatever makes me happy!"

"What makes you happy, mommy?" June asked.

Pearl had put a lot of thought into it. She actually knew the answer. "You do, sweetie."

After some last instructions to June and some last goodbyes, it was finally time to do it. Lapis made a small spear of water and flung it at Pearl, poofing her quick and painlessly. Peridot grabbed the falling gem before it hit the floor, and grabbed the tablet.

"Alright, Program, this is it. You ready?"

June nodded. "I'm so excited to use mommy's birthday present!"

Peridot hooked the tablet to some Homeworld tech along with the Pearl. There was no going back now.

~~~000~~~  
~~~000~~~

A/N: Okay, so this was all backstory, but the next chapters will actually have June staring, not Pearl. I hoped I made Pearl's ultimate decision make sense. Don't expect the next chapter soon BTW. and it'll probably be sorter. But what'd you think? I'd love feedback, good or bad. This is my first SU fanfic, so it might be a bit OOC. IDK. By the way, the first chapter takes place a bit after SUF ended, and then five more years pass, so Steven is in his mid to late 20s.


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